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Said He Would Calm the Raging Sea

As a resident of Halifax in 2003 I had the dubious privilege of living through Hurricane Juan, a Category 2 hurricane which tore through parts of the Maritimes just after midnight on September 29^th. Those of us living on the Atlantic Coast are familiar with hurricane warnings, but the severity of Juan was unusual and unexpected. Eight Nova Scotians lost their lives in the worst storm to hit Halifax since 1893. Even though I was aware of the warnings, I went to bed as normal and proceeded to sleep through the hurricane, tucked away in my flat on Harvey Street. I was aware of the warnings but did not appreciate their urgency, since so many storm warnings fail to amount to much.

The morning after the storm I awoke to a profound silence I now associate with a complete loss of power. It seemed eerie because such a silence was unusual to me, but also peaceful without the hum of electrical appliances and household utilities. When I opened the front door however, I was greeted with a genuine scene of chaos and destruction. Fallen utility poles lined the streets up and down, tangled together with uprooted trees and assorted debris, power lines submerged in puddles, making the streets dangerous and impassible. There was not a soul around and I saw vehicles crushed beneath huge trees. Writing this I am reminded by how dramatic it seemed at the time. My first reaction at the sight was pure awe at what resembled a scene from a movie, and my second reaction was “Okay, well there is obviously not much for me to do here, I might as well go back inside away from danger.”

Without devaluing the catastrophic effects associated with a major storm, I am in awe of and even comforted by the sheer force of nature reminding me that unlike Jesus asleep in the boat, I cannot control the weather. “There is nothing you can do here right now, just sit tight and weather the storm.”

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a similar…opportunity, let’s say…to experience the humility of knowing God’s ways are not my ways. Despite the fear and uncertainty connected to a global pandemic, I was reminded that whatever control I thought I had or was entitled to was extremely limited. As a force of nature, the pandemic governed much of my daily life for a number of years, and while at times I felt hopelessness and fear, I also experienced a sense of peace and freedom in relinquishing the need to control what was going on around me. “This is beyond my control, we are all in the same boat, let’s try to be safe and see how it plays out.”

During stormy times in my life such as Hurricane Juan, COVID-19, a serious illness, or any life experience that causes me to feel I am stumbling and tripping on shaky ground, it is tempting to ask God, “Where are you in all of this, calmly sleeping through some squall on the Sea of Galilee?”

Even though I may be tempted to demand answers or explanations from God, I already know God’s chiding response, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 

~Trevor Droesbeck